Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday interacted with women collecting 'mahua' flowers in a forest near Umaria town in Madhya Pradesh and asked about their problems and challenges, a senior party leader said.

The women also took photos with Gandhi on the occasion.

The mahua trees are found in abundance in dense forests of MP and are a chief source of livelihood for tribal communities.

On Monday, former Congress president Gandhi addressed rallies in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni and Mandla districts during campaigning for his party candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

While Gandhi was travelling on Tuesday morning, he saw some women collecting mahua flowers in a forest near Umaria town.

"Soon after watching the women collecting mahua in the forest, Gandhi stopped his vehicle, reached in the midst of them and asked about their problems and challenges," the Congress leader said.

Later, Gandhi left for his onward destination.

The Wayanad Lok Sabha member had to stay overnight in MP's Shahdol district. His helicopter could not take off on Monday due to inclement weather, a Congress functionary earlier said.

A police official, however, said a fuel tanker that was supposed to reach Shahdol for refueling of the helicopter did not reach on time and that's why the chopper was unable to take off.

Senior BJP leader and former MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday evening took a jibe by claiming Gandhi's party and his helicopter had run out of fuel.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.